Shanelle was in her office typing up the last of her reports, when there was a knock at her closed door. Without looking up she told whoever it was to come in.
"I see my baby is hard at work once again," Jaylin said smiling, closing Shanelle's office door behind him.
Shanelle's head snapped up and immediately a smile tugged at her lips. "Hey you, what are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting in Dallas this morning," she said as she got up from her desk and walked over to where Jaylin stood looking sexy as ever.
She reached up and kissed his lips softly before she gave him a hug. When Shanelle went to pull away, Jaylin pulled her closer to his body and kissed her passionately, wrapping his arms around her waist. Before they could get carried away, he pulled back and looked down at her with a satisfied grin on his face.
"I did, and it's already taken care of. It was a phone conference, laid in bed thinking of you the entire time."
Shanelle looked up at Jaylin smiling. "So you were thinking of me, huh?"
"Always," Jaylin replied, matching Shanelle's smile with one of his own. "I came to see if you wanted to go out somewhere. I wanted to spend some time with you, hope you didn't have plans with the girls."
"That sounds great. The girls and I aren't scheduled for a day out for another couple days. What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking we could just hang out and talk since it's been a few days since we've been alone together, even if it's just bumming it at my place watching movies."
Shanelle looked at her watch and saw that it was just after four, "Well I have one last report to type up before I can call it quits. Do you want to wait for me? It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes, twenty at the most?"
Jaylin nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll wait for you. Do you want me to wait outside in the waiting area? I don't want to disturb you."
"No, you'll be fine. Just have a seat. Do you want anything to drink?"
Jaylin shook his head no as he ran a hand through his locs, pushing the course lengths away from his face. When he looked down at Shanelle, she was staring at him hungrily.
"You see something you like?"
Shanelle's face heated up with embarrassment as she looked down.
Jaylin pulled Shanelle closer to his body as he tightened his arms around her once again, and kissed her, his tongue sliding into her mouth, seeking hers. Shanelle released a breathy moan as she tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling on the twisted lengths. Jaylin growled into her mouth and deepened their kiss. He just loved it when she pulled at his dreads. There was just something about the way she did it. It simply drove him crazy.
As they continued to explore each other's mouths, Jaylin let his hands roam over Shanelle's voluptuous waist and down to the large curve of her soft plump ass, gripping a handful of the thick flesh and squeezed before releasing it only to do it all over again.
Jaylin's body was begging for release by the time they broke their heated kiss, breathing heavily. Jaylin pecked her on the lips one last time before resting his forehead against hers.
"I swear you're going to make me lose my mind with wanting you the way I do," Jaylin whispered.
To prove to her that he wasn't just saying something, he bent his knees slightly before straightening to his full height. Shanelle gasp out in surprise when she felt Jaylin's hardness nestle against her pulsing heat.
"This is what you do to me with just one simple kiss. Shanelle, you have no idea how much I want to make love to you. Woman, you are all I ever dream about. If I'm not dreaming, I'm thinking about you. What are you doing to me?"
Shanelle was too speechless to answer. Just as she thought of the words to say Gia barged into her office accompanied by a very handsome man and beautiful woman.
"Hey you two, break it up. I want y'all to meet some people."
Jaylin looked over at Gia and whoever the couple were that had come into Shanelle's office with her. Shanelle gave them both a small smile before she glared at Gia, who just laughed.
"Shan, you can yell later but in the mean time I want you to meet my cousin Jai and her husband Jonathan, but Jon for short. Jai, this is Shanelle and her boyfriend Jaylin."
Shanelle went to shake Jai and Jon's hand but was stopped by Jaylin. He still had a very big problem that he wanted to save another male and his woman and her sister from seeing. He turned Shanelle around in his arms and wrapped them around her waist. Shanelle let out a surprised gasp before she quickly plastered a smile on her face and shook Jai and Jon's hands. When Jaylin looked at the guy he had a knowing grin on his face. He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
Jaylin leaned around Shanelle a bit without releasing Shanelle and shook Jon's hand before he smiled at Jai, "It's nice to meet you both."
"Same here," Jon said warmly.
Gia was looking at Shanelle and Jaylin with funny looks before she looked up and saw Jon grinning. After putting two and two together she opened her mouth to say something but Shanelle slapped her hand over her mouth.
"It ain't ya business, just too damn nosey for your own good."
"Oh that ain't ever going to change," Jai said giggling.
Gia pushed Shanelle's hand away from her mouth. "Shut up. Anyway, Jai and Jon got in a little earlier than expected and mama brought them up here to meet everyone."
Jai was just as attractive as her older cousins with long hair that stopped just passed her shoulder blades with a curvy petite figure. She had beautiful cinnamon colored skin and eyes that could see passed the best of lies. Jon on the other hand was very handsome where his wife was beautiful. He had an athletic muscular build with a complexion of brown sugar with a sensual pair of kissable lips. Together, he and Jai made a very beautiful couple.
"Where's Mama Debra? I thought her and pop was on their cruise till tomorrow." Shanelle wanted to know.
"She's right here."
Shanelle and the others turned around and saw Debra walk into the room with a bright smile on her face.
"Hey ma, when did you and Papa get back into town? Woman I have to say you sure are a sight for sore eyes, I missed you," Shanelle said as she stepped forward and pulled the smaller woman into a hug.
"I missed you too but if you missed me so much why haven't you been to see me? It's been over two weeks since I saw you, Shanny. What's going on with you girls lately?" Debra asked as she released Shanelle and studied her face before she looked over Shanelle's shoulder. "Could this young man be the reason?" she asked with a smile.
"Umm I uhh I-"
Debra shooed a stuttering Shanelle out of the way and stepped over to Jaylin.
"Hi, I'm Debra Harris, everyone calls me Mama Debra. May I ask who you are?"
"Yes, ma'am. My name is Jaylin Cunningham. I'm Shanelle's boyfriend and it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Shanelle speaks of you often," Jaylin said with a smile.
Debra turned and looked at Shanelle whose cheeks were flushed with embarrassment with a brow arched quizzically before she turned back to Jaylin. "Same here, son, wish she'd stop talking and come to visit. How long have you been dating?"
"Not that long, it wasn't because of my lack of trying though. Shanelle is a very stubborn nut to crack," Jaylin said grinning.
"That she is. Anyway, I won't try to lecture you about her because she's a grown woman but remember you'll have daughters one day. Do unto my daughter as you would want a young man to do to yours, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am. Loud and clear. I wouldn't dream of doing anything knowing it would hurt her. Miss Debra, you have nothing to worry about."
"I know," Debra said as she pulled him into a motherly hug. "Make her happy, she deserves it."
"She sure does and I'll do all I can to do just that ma'am," Jaylin said looking at Shanelle with adoration in his eyes.
When Debra pulled away from Jaylin she gave him a bright smile before she hugged Shanelle and got ready to walk out the door when Gia stopped her.
"Ma, what about my hug? I'm your daughter, remember?" Gia asked whining.
"Gia, how long have I been your mother?" Debra asked with her hands on her hips.
"All my life, your point is?" Gia answered with a duh look on her face.
"Since I've been your mother all your life and have done everything for you, might I add, you could at least come see me once a week. I know you're not that busy. So when you want your hug come by the house and get it."
With those words Debra walked out of Shanelle's office leaving Gia standing there pouting and Shanelle and the others laughing.
Gia rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Jai where are you and Jon plan on staying until you find a place?"
"We're staying at a hotel for now. We'll go looking for places first thing in the morning."
"Do you know of any apartments for lease or rent?" Jon added as he kissed Jai's cheek as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"No, can't say I do. There are a few housing consultants that can help you though."
"If you don't mind me interrupting, I have a few suggestions," Jaylin said looking at Gia, then Jai and finally back to Jon.
"Nah man, not at all. Anything will help at this point. Staying in a hotel for weeks doesn't sound too appealing."
"I'm part owner of Essential Townhomes and Condo's. I can call and set up an appointment for a tour. Do you have a limit as to how high you'll be able to spend a month?"
"Wow. Umm yeah, we can't go over twelve hundred, gotta conserve as much as we can since we're expecting," Jon said as he smiled with pride. Jai smiled shyly when Jon started rubbing her still flat tummy.
Gia looked at Jai in surprise. "Congrats, baby cousin! Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.
Jai looked up at Jon then back to Gia. "It was supposed to be a surprise until we got settled in and invited you over to the house but big mouth had to spill the beans."
Jon grinned happily as he kissed Jai once again. "Sorry, Jai baby, I totally forgot you wanted to keep it a secret." Jai elbowed Jon playfully as she laughed lightly.
Jaylin watched the happily married couple's playful banter, and couldn't wait to see what God had in store for him and Shanelle. He hoped that they too would be happily married and expecting their first child somewhere down the road.
Shanelle congratulated Jai and Jon, followed by Jaylin before they picked the apartment discussion back up again.
"Since you guys are on a budget I'll see if my partner will give you a good deal that'll keep you guys from breaking the bank. As a matter of fact, let me call him now and see what he has available before I end up putting my foot in my mouth."
Jaylin kissed Shanelle briefly on her lips before he walked out of her office with his phone in hand. As he walked out, Gia shook her head smiling.
"That man sure is something, ain't he?"
Shanelle popped her. "Watch it heffa, eyes off the merchandise. You have a man, remember?" she replied with a brow arched and a grin on her face.
"I'm just admiring him that's all. He's not my flavor no way."
"Yeah I know, he's more than a few shades darker than you like 'em, huh?" Shanelle laughed.
Gia grinned. "No comment!"
Jai laughed being that she knew exactly how her cousin could be. She already knew Gia preferred Caucasian men. It's not like she never tried black men, it just wasn't what she wanted. At least the few times she'd dated them. Hey if white men are what she preferred, why knock it? Everybody has their types of men or women they want to be with regardless of race. Only thing that mattered was how they treated you and how you treated them, nothing more nothing less.
"So where is this mystery man, Gia? I would like to meet him."
"Yeah, I wanna see what's got my cousin-in-law smiling so damn hard," Jon threw in.
"We're getting together tonight at Pica's for some pizza. Would y'all like to go? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"I don't know about that. I don't want to impose on you and your dude's time together. Maybe tomorrow, think that would be better than us just showing up out of nowhere trying to scope him out. That would be rude."
"Well I'm inviting you, so don't worry about it."
"Nah Gia, I'd prefer to meet your boyfriend at a scheduled time and date, rather than showing up and dissing him when you're supposed to be hanging out. So we'll pass. Just get at us tomorrow. We could all go out to get some lunch or something," Jon said, siding with his wife.
"Fine, Jon. If that's what you want, even though Marcus isn't like that. Guess we can go to lunch at this new restaurant they just opened by my mama and daddy house," Gia said, finally relenting on the subject.
"So Jai, what brings you guys all the way from Aggieland to the dusty flatland also known as Lubbock?"
Jai laughed. "It is pretty dirty out this way, but Jon got a good job as a supervisor here. It was a good opportunity, so here we are."
"That's good. When do you start?"
"I start next week. They wanted us to get settled in first, you know get to know the area."
Shanelle nodded her head, "Well if you guys need some help with finding your way, let me know."
"Will do."
A few moments later, Jaylin came walking back into Shanelle's office. "Alright, I just got off the phone with Randy and he said he has a two bed two bath condo he's willing to lease out to you for eight hundred even. Do you think that's something you'll be able to swing? The only bills you have to pay are electric and if you want the package deal for the satellite and internet, even though that shouldn't be no more than a buck fifty at the most."
Jon looked at Jai and smiled at her before he turned to Jaylin and stuck his hand out. "That sounds great. Good looking out. When can we go check the place out?"
Jaylin shook his hand. "No problem man. You can go to the office in the morning sometime. Randy will be waiting for you guys to show up then. If you need anything else give me a call and I'll see what I can do to help. Welcome to Lubbock."
"Thank you," Jai said as she gave Jaylin a grateful smile and took the business card he held out to her.
"You're more than welcome."
The small group stood around and talked for a few more minutes before Jai and Jon decided they were going to go back to their hotel to get some rest. Before Jon escorted Jai out, he thanked Jaylin once more and told him that he'd give him a call the next morning.
Gia saw her family out the door, which left Jaylin and Shanelle alone once again.
"So are you ready to get out of here? Or are you going to finish your reports?"
Shanelle gave him grateful look. "Thanks for reminding me. I completely forgot. Let me finish this last report and then we can head out, unless you want to meet me at my house because I need to change clothes. Don't wanna wear these heels longer than I have to."
"You don't have to go all the way home to change clothes. I have more than enough things at my place that'll fit you."
Shanelle gave Jaylin a look. "You can't be serious. Look at me compared to you. I wouldn't be able to fit nothing in your closet as big as I am. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to get nothing passed these big ass thighs of mine."
Jaylin frowned at her. "Why would you say something like that about yourself? Like seriously what's so bad about your body? You're a very thick curvy woman and I love that about you, so why are you talking bad about yourself?"
"Let's be real here, Jaylin. You and I both know I'm bigger than you. I'm not exactly model thin you know. I probably have stretch marks bigger than you. I just want to go home and wear clothes that I know will fit my big butt, that's it," Shanelle said as she walked back to the safety of her desk and sat down with a bit of attitude.
"Yeah, I do know and I have no problem with it, even though I probably weigh more than you do. Shanelle, I love your body, I really do. Any man that didn't think with his dick would see you have a great body with a wonderful personality regardless of how much you weigh. But what I want and need for you to understand is that I won't tolerate for you to talk down about yourself in front of me. Whatever you say when I'm not around, is between you and God. If you feel the need to talk down about yourself and your weight do something about it. Don't do it because of an asshole made you feel like shit, do it because you want to. Like I said before, you are a beautiful woman and I refuse to let you belittle yourself in my presence. When you're done with your work, I'll be sitting in the guest area waiting," Jaylin said as he tried not to reach over the desk and shake the shit out of her in hopes of making her see that there wasn't anything wrong with her.
Shanelle watched Jaylin walk out of her office, closing the door behind him. She let out a sigh. "What the hell is wrong with me?" As soon as those words left her mouth, there was a knock at the door. "What?" she asked in an irritated voice.
The door opened and there stood Christy and Gia frowning.
"For you to be so smart, you are so dumb. Why would you say something like that to that man knowing he adores you for who you are and not for what he wants you to be?" Christy asked as she walked into Shanelle's office and took a seat on the corner of her desk.
"Shanelle, if that man wanted you looking like a chocolate covered sardine in his shit, let him have it! That man wants you plain and simple. Why do you think he walked out of here pissed at you?" Gia cut in.
Shanelle rolled her eyes and started typing the report that needed to be finished.
"Aye heffa, don't ignore me," Gia said as she threw a paperclip at Shanelle. "Shanelle, I thought you were over this insecure kick. Why start it up again? You are aware that Jaylin and Roderick are two different men right?"
Shanelle let out an annoyed growl. "Will you please get the hell out of my office?! I don't want to hear what y'all have to say right now. Just get out. Please!"
Christy held her hands up in surrender as she got off the desk, "Sis, I don't know what's going on in your head but you need to let it go. Jaylin and Roderick are two different men and you need to remember that. You don't need to put up a defensive wall with Jaylin. I can tell he genuinely cares about you and wants you to be happy. Let it go sweetie."
When Shanelle didn't acknowledge Christy's words, Gia just shook her head and grabbed Christy's hand and walked out of Shanelle's office, closing the door behind them. Gia walked down the hall to where Jaylin sat looking at his phone. She took a seat next to him and looked over at him.
"Hey."
Jaylin looked at Gia before he looked back at his phone, "What's up, Gia?"
Gia rolled her eyes before she covered Jaylin's phone screen with her hand. He switched hands and gave her a what do you want look.
"Look Jaylin, I just wanted to tell you to take it easy on my girl. She's been through a lot. We all have. Just give her some time to adjust. Be that man that shows her the difference between a clown and a great man, cool?"
Jaylin looked Gia over once more, before he nodded his head. "I'm doing that, but I hear you."
When he heard Shanelle talk down to herself it did something to him. The first thing he wanted to do was shake some sense into her. He couldn't believe that after everything he'd said to her she would still talk down about herself. It's bad when someone else does it, but it's downright self-destructive to do it to yourself when there is no sane reason to do so.
Gia pat him on the back before she grabbed her purse and satchel from the secretary desk. Before she could walk out the door, Gabrielle stopped her.
"Where are you slinking off to ma'am?"
"If you must know, I'm going home to grab my overnight bag and heading over to Marcus' place for the weekend."
"Really? You and Marcus getting that close now? Damn."
"We aren't that close, get your mind out the gutter nasty. We just wanted to spend time together and get to know each other better, that's all. Sis, don't make it out to be something more than what it is."
"I was just asking no need to get touchy. Besides, haven't y'all been getting to know each other like every day just about?"
"Whatever. Anyway, tell Chris I'm out for the day and not to expect me home tonight. Love ya."
"Alright, be careful," Gabrielle said, giving Gia a pointed look.
"Who said things were going to get that good?" Gia grinned back before she walked out the door.
"Says your little overdue kitty," Gabrielle yelled after her twin laughing.
Jaylin sat there chuckling. Gabrielle grinned over at him and sat back in the secretary chair to finish her schedule for the next week.
After twenty minutes Shanelle came out of her office with her purse and bag. She stopped by Christy's office to let her know she was leaving with Jaylin. After her questions and threats she made her way over to Jaylin.
"Are you ready to head out?" she asked hesitantly.
Jaylin looked up at her and nodded before he stood up. He took her bag and grabbed her hand and proceeded to walk out of the office. When they got to Jaylin's truck, he helped her into the passenger side before he got in, started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
They'd been driving for a few minutes and Jaylin still hadn't said anything to Shanelle. Every few minutes she would look over at him, his dreads hanging loosely around his handsome face and down his back. She saw the twitching muscle of his jaw, indicating that he was still pissed at her for the stupid things she'd said, so she sat in silence on her side of the car and waited for them to get wherever they were going.
Minutes later, Jaylin pulled up to a beautiful two story home with a lush manicured lawn and huge bay windows. He got out and walked over to the passenger side of the luxury car and helped Shanelle out. Together they walked up the double set of steps that led to his large double front door. Once the door was opened, he motioned for Shanelle to walk in.
As soon as Shanelle stepped foot into the house, Jaylin's all too familiar scent filled her nose. Jaylin placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to a large cozy room where a chocolate suede sectional couch with large colorful throw pillows adorned the comfy looking couch.
"You have a beautiful home," Shanelle said as she looked around the room, looking at the different African art pieces that hung from the walls.
"Thank you. Please have a seat, I'll be right back," Jaylin said tightly before walking off towards another section of the house.
Shanelle kicked herself in the ass. She didn't know why she said what she'd said, she just did. She was so use to beating Roderick with insulting words about herself, that what she'd said to Jaylin was simply out of habit. She let out a long sigh as she took a seat on the couch that felt like pure heaven. She slipped her shoes off and tucked them under her and sat back waiting for Jaylin to return, she didn't want to go wondering around his place when she wasn't given the permission to do so.
Ten minutes passed and Jaylin still hadn't come back. Shanelle let out a yawn for the thousandth time as she laid her head back on a fluffy cushion, before she knew it she'd drifted off to sleep.
When Jaylin walked back into his den minutes later, he saw Shanelle fast asleep. He shook his head and smiled as he grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over her sleeping form. He kissed her cheek softly before leaving out soundlessly.